dragonydreams | I'm an idiot

That pretty much sums it up. I think most of you have heard me complain about not being able to access my wireless internet at home. Well, turns out it's user error rather than computer error.

I stopped by Best Buy after work today because we thought there might be something wrong with the wireless network card. While I was staying with my brother I wasn't able to pick up the three or four wireless signals in his building, including his. We knew that it had worked at my dad's house at the beginning of November, and logically came to the conclusion that something had damaged the card.

When I got to Best Buy the guy asked me where the switch was. I looked at him blankly. "There's a physical switch?" I asked. He tilted the laptop up and sure enough, there's a flat button under the front lip (he had to look for it too). Lo and behold, it was then able to connect to the store's wireless network.

Man did I feel stupid. I'm sure I was very red-faced. The told me not to feel bad, but I still did. I've been trying to figure this out for six weeks. I must have missed that in the owner's manual. Or assumed that they were talking about the light that goes on when the wireless connection is open.

I'm going to go hang my head in shame until the girl arrives to look at the apartment.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Don't feel bad. Me and my brother spent almost two days straight trying to figure out why my laptop wouldn't connect to my brothers wireless network even though it was abrand new laptop and knew it's wireless card wouldn't be damaged. We had to end up running the wireless network through my laptop and my brother connecting to it wirelessly. About a week later I pressed this nifty looking button, right in plain view, that had the wireless symbol on it. Guess what? No where in the instructions did it say that there was a manual switch to turn on the wireless network function.

So mine was in plain view and me and my brother did exactly the same thing as you. Except the part where we went into the shop and said that the wireless connection function wasn't working.

Andy

Okay, I feel a little better now. I think that I had just assumed that what was actually a button was just the label for the light.

Since I'm going away again this weekend, and my friend has wireless internet, I wanted to make sure it'd work. I also wanted to see if I should be harrassing the cable company because of something on their end preventing from working.

Don't feel bad. Really, don't. I do tech support for my company and wouldn't even bat an eye at this. In fact, I never heard of a physical switch for a wireless card either. Recently I was trying to talk a customer through downloading an update to our software and when I asked him to go on the internet, he said, "Oh, is that the big E thingy?" And this was a college professor...

I deal with idiots who don't know how to use the internet at work too. I'd never heard of this before - I just assumed that wireless network card meant that it would work when there was wireless service available. Stupid HP for making things complicated.

Elisabeth, don't feel bad! Remind me to tell you the story of the reset button someday!

Gabrielle

I feel less stupid now. Apparently no one would have thought to look for a button.

I'm glad you know that now! I'm so pleased that you feel better!

Gabrielle

That is SO something I would do.

At least I'm not the only one. And hey, it's working now!

and that's the important thing

I'm an idiot

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